


Down the Rabbit Hole

by HaloMimi



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: F/M, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-22
Updated: 2017-03-22
Packaged: 2018-10-09 06:19:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10405839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HaloMimi/pseuds/HaloMimi
Summary: Warnings due to Suicide Mention, abusive themes implied, and possible triggers.Is she saved? Or did she just land herself in more trouble?I don't really know where this came from but I hope it isn't too confusing.





	

    "You have to choose." Sometimes she swore the only reason she was woken up was to entertain the whims of whoever was bored at the current moment. In that particular occasion, it would be Pakunoda. Her head shook in response and her eyes darted to the side. "Ah, ah (F/n)." A thin finger waved in front of her and she darted back before it could land on her. "I'll ask you one more time but you have to choose." Even if she was asked a thousand times her answer wouldn't change. 

    "You're walking down a street when both the boss and Hisoka ride up to you and offer you a ride. Who do you choose?" Neither. Has been her answer for the last five or seven minutes but apparently that isn't good enough for Pakunoda. So she pretends to think about it. Mulling her lip between her teeth as she stalls for time. 

    "Wh-what car are they driving?" This catches Pakunoda off guard. The slender finger darted underneath the woman's chin before it could touch her forehead. 

    "Convertible. Both of them." An odd image of Hisoka and Chrollo behind the wheel of a car appears in her mind with details missing of course, but it does nothing to sway her opinion of either man. 

    "What color?" She's obviously stalling but Pakunoda decides to play along with a smile. "Let's see. Boss is driving a red convertible. His hair is slicked back but he's wearing a simple button up instead of the usual jacket with fur trimming. Ah, it's not buttoned all the way up obviously and the sleeves are rolled up to the elbow... Hisoka is driving a blue car and wearing something red probably." Not a lot of detail for Hisoka. Respect and admiration for Chrollo was obviously shared by every troupe member, as well as blatant distaste for Hisoka. She leans her head into her chin as she thinks. She was stuck with her back against a wall and a sword pressed against her chest. Or well something along those lines. If she didn't answer soon Pakunoda would assign a game penalty and those were typically worse than the game itself... Last time she'd had to give Feitan a kiss on the cheek. Which sounded innocent enough, but now she's missing three nails on her left hand and one on her right. Feitan did not take well to teasing.   
    Chrollo or Hisoka basically. Which one did she prefer? Either way she answered would spell trouble out later. Pakunoda patiently waited for her answer as she continued to think. What a cruel game, she almost preferred being in a coma for weeks at a time. 

    "What's the matter?" Pakunoda chuckles into her hand. A couple of blonde strands going to her face as she did. "It's only a simple question (F/n). Boss or Hisoka who do you prefer?" Neither! Chrollo had personally kidnapped her from the dorm. Slaughtering the security guards and several professors as he went. While Hisoka-hadn't ever personally done a single thing to her. "I'll give you another minute." 

    In fact, when Uvogin had made several lewd comments to her Hisoka had requested she play cards with him. Though she couldn't help but think that was done in order to provoke the volatile Uvogin. Either way she had been saved by Hisoka's whims that day. 

    "Another minute for what?" Speak of the devil, or at least one of them. Chrollo walked up to them with his trademark jacket open wide enough for his abs to show. Wasn't he cold? She was freezing in her thin blouse and jeans. Once their eyes met she turned away quickly to avoid his gaze. Under other circumstances that gesture could be interpreted as something demure. Truth of the matter was that she was terrified of him. Chrollo Lulcifer had broken into one of the most heavily guarded Universities in the world, she'd watched him kill fourteen professional bodyguards before they could even draw their weapons, and at the moment her life depended on his current mood and curiosity. 

    Needless to say her situation was looking quite grim with every passing minute. Meanwhile, Pakunoda wasted no time in greeting 'the Boss' and explaining the game. He seemed vaguely intrigued by the current events and sat on the broken pew beside them. 

    "Oh now I get it, but I don't know why you're hesitating (F/n) it's obviously better to choose the Boss over Hisoka." Machi pointed curtly over to the pile of ruble where Hisoka was currently building a tower of cards. When had everyone gathered around? Pakunoda gave another chuckle and motioned over to her one last time. 

    "Yes indeed, but the choice is yours. So then. Who do you choose Hisoka or the Boss?" She wasn't a troupe member, the respect and deeply rooted admiration Chrollo held meant nothing to her. On the other hand, she didn't know Hisoka enough to trust him with that choice. It really had been a cruel game till the very end. 

    All the same she'd made her choice. Pakunoda had been the one to ask the question originally so she kept her gaze steady as she met Pakunoda's eyes. Her mouth opened, but the word stuck in her mouth. For the life of her she couldn't utter out the syllables needed to form the name. Only fractions of a second had passed but everyone waited for her answer. Seconds begun to pass and she started glancing around frantically. Finally she met dark black eyes focused entirely on her exactly like the day he'd woken her to take her away. Trailing her eyes down and away from that knowing gaze she noticed the book. 

    Chrollo's precise ability was still a mystery to her. What she assumed was that when he had that book in hand he could do anything he pleased. Such as put her in a coma for days or seal her mouth so she couldn't utter anything other than his name. Fear had been her constant companion from the moment she set foot in the cathedral. Fear also made her come to a sudden realization of what the whole reason behind her kidnapping had been. Sure she was an heiress for a wealthy family, and of course there were rare treasures that came with that. Despite that her true and only worth was probably in her ability. As the leader of the infamous Phantom Troupe it wouldn't be far fetched to say that Chrollo was also able to steal any ability he deemed worthy of stealing. Putting two and two together made her blood run cold. Not to say she suddenly understood everything, some details were still hazy, but she had a hunch that if she uttered out Chrollo's name he would have more power over her than he already did.  

    Perhaps she should be flattered to have an ability deemed worthy of stealing, but she was only terribly afraid for what would happen to her afterwards. Chrollo didn't seem generous enough to let her go after she was useless to him. Her fingers twitched as they touched her throat. Nothing felt out of place and yet she still couldn't utter a single word? 

    "What's wro-" She cut off Pakunoda's question with a squeak. Her body flew backwards as she jumped away from Pakunoda's hand and she tumbled backwards into the shadow of the pillar. Without perfect control over her ability it usually activated when she was utterly terrified. She fell through what felt like the floor and into a room with lots of pipes and cylinders. Not wasting any more time she found another shadowy corner. Without bothering to question her current whereabouts she tried to concentrate and think of a familiar place away from the run down cathedral. A place the Phantom Troupe had no idea existed. Who would've thought that a mild anxiety attack would be enough to escape from the notorious Phantom Troupe?  

 

    This time she immediately recognized the gilded fixtures and scattered mirrors throughout the dressing room. Out of all the places it had to be the Metropolitan Performance house. That would give her an hour at worst and a day at best. Although Chrollo was a careful man, he probably already had someone monitoring all the places she was familiar with. Question was how much did he know about her? She had taken every care to avoid Pakunoda but even then he could probably find out where she had lived and how long. What mattered the most however, the emotional connections she had to each place should be unknown to him. 

    "Don't move." Her thoughts were interrupted by the thin sharp needle that pressed into her neck. The voice that threatened her was completely unknown to her. Either way she didn't dare hope that it was her own prince charming that stood behind her ready to rescue her. With a gulp her eyes darted to the closest mirror and she saw a foreign face. "When I say so I want you to activate your ability one last time." The needle pressed against her skin once more this time pushing against her skin so that it almost drew blood. "Nod your head if you understand." 

    Out of the frying pan and into the fire. She'd left the spiders nest only to be caught by a complete stranger. As she nodded her head she focused on his appearance. In the dim lighting his dark eyes contrasted against his pale skin, but he had no discernable expression. The needle was removed from behind her neck in a swift movement but her heart wouldn't slow down. 

    "Ok." Without warning arms snaked underneath her and she was lifted up into the strangers arms. Out of instinct she threw her own arms around his neck when she did she realized his hair was incredibly silky, and long. "Now." He didn't seem like the patient type so she nodded and closed her eyes. The overcast shadow from the grandfather clock would do. As she felt the pull of the darkness she didn't even try to control the destination. Instead she let the stranger decide where he wanted to take her 

    Not to say that she wasn't shaking as she adjusted to the new surroundings. The stranger adjusted sooner than her, and once he did she was tossed to side without so much as another word. Soft and plush material cushioned her fall. A bed, but the rest of the room was dimly lighted and spinning. Vile rose in the back of her throat but she resisted the urge to heave. Stumbling around she fell off the bed to a cold hard floor. Figures stood nearby but she didn't pay them any mind. The last fall had taken more out of her than she'd expected, plus she'd had a back seat driver. The vile crept up her throat again and she tried to find a decent place to throw up other than the floor. 

    "Oh right, bathroom's that way." Once she discerned the direction pointed she half crawled half stumbled her way into the bathroom. Locating the toilet she bent over it and let her guts spill. Or at least that's what it felt like. A gentle hand pulled her hair out of her face and rubbed her back. 

    "Are you done Miss?" She spared the servant more of her stench and nodded. A glass of water was handed to her and she took a sip. Finding the sink she spat once and twice and again until the taste was out of her throat. Around her another girl brought in a towel and guided her into another room. 

    "Master Illumi figured this would happen so he had us prepare a bath ahead of time. If you need anything simply call and we will answer." A soft fluffy warm towel and a pile of neat clothes. Not to mention that there was a wonderful scent coming from the bathtub. This felt like a vacation at the Ritz instead of a second kidnapping. 

~~``~~``~~``~~``~~``~~``~~``~~``~~``~~``~~``~~

    "...you are free to go anywhere you please within the mansion Mistress. However, if you would like to go outside I would have to request permission from either Lord Silva or Lady Kikyo. Which reminds me, we must have Mike recognize the new Mistress soon." Following behind the maid, butler girl, servant? She wondered if the girl was always so chatty or if she had been given particular instructions. "Here we are." The girl opened the doors and waited for her to pass. "Misstress (F/n)." 

    "Oh (F/n)!" Before she could fully react she was trapped in her uncle's arms. Overwhelming cologne did nothing to mask the smell of sweat and filth. She almost felt vile rise in her throat once more, but she wasn't sure if she was imagining it. A hand snaked down dangerously close to her bottom. The utter nerve! "Thank heavens. You're alive!" She pushed and wriggled out of the embrace and stepped backwards. Her hand froze halfway to his face. One, two, three, no four more people in the room with her perverted uncle and her. Carefully arranging her face into a cool mask she dropped her hand. "They didn't do any-" "Where are my parents."   
    Uncle's lips tilted upwards but he covered his face with his hands and made a pitifully fake sound. "Oh dear (F/n), they're dead. Everyone's dead! You see those wretched thieves murdered everyone." Two things immediately came into her mind as she droned out the rest of Uncle's monologue. First, even if she was an adult her uncle now owned her. Which meant her could and would do as he pleased with her. This made a cold shiver run through her and her stomach start to churn dangerously. Secondly, she was a terrible utterly despicable person to worry about herself first instead of mourn the loss of her family. 

    "I don't feel good. May I go to a room and rest?" Always address the most powerful person in the room when you're trying to persuade a group. To the side her uncle began spouting out excuses but she locked her eyes onto the man in the grand chair. Surely he was the one in charge. She was given a curt nod before he spoke to the girl behind her. 

    "Florencia, take her back to her room." Uncle was livid, but careful to hide it behind a concerned expression. Without another word she followed the girl back to her room. Tuning out the chatters she started to think about making another and final escape. Maybe she should've wondered why she had received permission to be excused, or who the people in the room were. Quite frankly though, she was too exhausted to be concerned with those details. 'No one's going to come for you.' Now she understood Chrollo's words at the time. 

    She dismissed the girl with a promise to call if she needed anything. Instead of resting or crying her eyes out on the bed she looked underneath it before ducking in the shadow it provided. Closing her eyes she focused on the memories of Illumi. Along with his name came a few memories of the mansion. A dungeon where chains and shackles hung from every wall. Another room with an electric chair. Flickers of a boy with blue eyes and silver hair were frequent, but she didn't want to pry that deep into Illumi's memories. 

    Finally she saw it tucked between more memories of blood and the boy. She didn't pry for the emotional connection, if there was any. She only focused on the place. A cliff about a thousand feet above the ground. With a canopy of trees and more sharp rocks beneath it. Not what she would have preferred but perfect for her intentions. She focused on that cliff, on the trees around it and sank into the floor. This time she pulled herself up from the dark shadow of a tree. 

    She was not far but not close to the mansion either. Mike wasn't nearby either, she gathered enough information from Illumi's memories to know that nobody would come. But that was what she wanted. A strong wind whips her hair as she steps close to the edge of the cliff. Away from the danger she starts to wonder if there were any alternatives. Before jumping she tries to reason out any possibility left but she's only met with despair. Uncle was crafty enough to register her as either mentally unstable or sick to have power over her. Left completely alone with him she knew perfectly well what he would do to her until she broke. 

    "I'd rather die." Seeing no way out of the current situation she stepped closer to the cliff until gravity pulled her down. Her mind was prepared for a long fall. For her life to flash behind her eyes and for time to either slow or speed up. What she was not prepared for was to for her arm to be yanked out of it's socket as she was pulled up. 

    Tears stung at the corners of her eyes. Blinking only made them run down her face. Though blurry she could make out Illumi Zoldyck standing in front of her, his feet planted firmly on the cliff and hand tightly gripping her own dislocated arm. The pain was burning hot, she half expected for her arm to completely tear off. But both her arm and Illumi held tight. She was moved until she was hovering over safe ground and unceremoniously dropped once again. "Stay still." Without warning Illumi knelt in front of her and another flash of pain shot through her arm before settling into a dull sting. "There." In the moonlight she made out the curl of his lips into a smile as he looked at her. "You were right mother. I like her." 

    "Didn't I say so? But Illumi, where are your manners? You haven't introduced yourself to her." While she rubbed her arm absently she turned to look at the woman speaking, Kikyo Zoldyck. That was quite the dress but what she was more interested in was the visor covering her eyes. A cold hand tilted her chin to Illumi once more. 

    "Hello (F/n). My name's Illumi Zoldyck I'm your fiancé." So many details were left out of that explanation. Frowning she tilted her head to the side before nodding. So many questions raced through her head. How had he found her just in time? Almost as if he'd been waiting for her? What about his mother? What was she doing there? From his memories she gathered that he knew Chrollo, would he turn her back to the troupe? Or had her uncle paid Illumi to deliver her safely into his grubby hands? All in all she'd gone from one confusing situation to something out of a bizarre dream. Maybe she was finally loosing her mind due to the confusing circumstances but a smile settled on her lips and she started to giggle. 

    "So I guess I didn't have to choose after all!" This time she burst into full out cackles even hitting the ground with her fist. It was completely inappropriate for her and quite honestly she didn't even understand her outburst. 

    "Mother, I think she's breaking... Should I slap her?"


End file.
